Chilli Hilly 2009

Disclaimer: The following material may only be found appealing by "hard-core" or "serious" runners. However, Dave promises to try to add "variety" to this post by describing other non-runner things, like the color of the sky, the taste of the food, and the decorations of the buildings.

Wow!

What a weekend!

I can't feel my legs!

Yes, I am back from my second Chilli Hilly in Bradford Woods, Indiana (the first one was last year). It was a super intense weekend of racing, food, friends, fun, and, above all, racing. I realize now that I failed to provide any adaquete background info on the Chilly Hilly, so here's a quick run-down:

The Chilli Hilly is a Stage Race. There are 5 races run over the course of the weekend. On Saturday afternoon there is a 10K with a 4-mile in the evening. Then, on Sunday morning, all racers get up and run a 5K, take an hour break, run a 10-mile, take an hour break, and then run a 1-mile race. It's called the "Chilli Hilly" because the terrain is very hilly, and after all the races are over, they serve you chilli.

So, now that you're all caught up, this last weekend has been a blur. On Saturday morning, myself, along with 8 comrades, set off for Bradford Woods, Indiana. The Fellowship of the Run consisted of Steve Gifford, Nathan and Andrew Young, Austin Bradford, Nathan Smith, Grant Zimmerman, and The Brothers Getz (Ben, Dan, and myself). Upon arriving, they holed us up in nice cabins, where our group proceeded to take over an entire section of the cabin. The curtains were made of a cloth material.

You see, how the Chilli Hilly works, there is a Team divisoin and an Open division. The Fellowship had divided into 2 teams and entered in the Team Division. The Prancing Platypii consisted of Steve, Nathan, Nathan [Smith] (a.k.a. "Smitty"), and Andrew. My team, Jumbonius Caesar, consisted of myself, Ben, Dan, Grant, and Austin. Since the number of runners on the teams vary, Chilli Hilly rules dictate that only the top 2 runners from each team score in a race. There were 4 Men's Teams and 3 Women's Teams participating, as well as a good two dozen individual runners.

Once the actual racing began, strategies and plans began racing through our heads almost as fast as our feet upon the rugged ground. What was supposed to be a clash between the Prancing Platypii and Jumbonius Caesar soon turned into a alliance against the team called Totally Awesome. Totally Awesome consisted of three runners from a nearby Indiana high school who were pretty tough competition. After the 10K and the 4 Mile on Day 1, we found ourselves being beaten by a large margin. However, with gutsy performances on Day 2, Jumbonius Caesar managed to squeak out a tie with Totally Awesome to share the team title! The Prancing Platypii were a mere half baker's dozen points behind. Speaking of baking, there was lots of great food there.

That was a general overview; here are some of the sweet details....

Everybody ran tremendously over the long, hard, grueling weekend! I could go off for paragraphs about each member of the Fellowship. First, for the Platypii, all rookies to the Chilli Hilly: Steve, as the fearless leader (being the only true "adult"), was our head tactician, very much akin to the way Odysseus is described in Homer's "The Iliad." His strategies paid off big time for him in the 4-mile and 10-mile races when he was able to hunt down some people at the end to take some low spots. Nathan, the Captain-in-Residence of the Morton Cross Country team, showed his racing savvy multiple times by aiding his fellow comrades, and by kicking down the competition to take 3rd place in the mile. Younger brother Andrew came in huge in the later races with an outstanding finishes in the 5K and 10-mile to help propel the Platypii ahead in the point totals. Last but not least for the Platypii, Smitty, running as their #3 man most of the time, showed tremendous stamina by completing all 3 races of Day 2 despite having shin pain the night before. A strong 5K was his pinnacle of the weekend. Speaking of which, Smitty's red running shirt was the same color as the inflatible candy-cane archway that marked the start and finish line of each race.

Now, for a run-down of Jumbonius Caesar (don't ask where this name comes from. That's a blog for another day): I ran my best races on Day 2, with my best finishes in the 5K and 1-mile. Ben consistently rounded up solid points as our #2 runner while fighitng with Totally Awesome's #2 runner in most races. His tremendous 1-mile effort in the last race of the day sealed Caesar's tie with Totally Awesome! Sadly, Dan was only able to run the 10K before knee pain kept him out of competing the rest of the weekend. Grant, another returning veteran of the Chilli Hilly, showed his leadership by mistakingly taking Austin on a 5-mile detour during the 10-mile race. Also, Grant easily took the title for Most Calories Consumed by taking full advantage of the seeminly never-ending food supply. Last but again not least for the Romans was Austin Bradford. In his first ever Chilli Hilly, Austin ran amazingly well! The 4-mile was definitely his best race of the weekend. Speaking of which, the cabins were very cozy and the hardwood floors gave it a "rustic" feel.

So there you have it; a rundown of the entire 2009 Chilli Hilly weekend. My legs feel as feeble as newborn horse and I feel like I may fall asleep at the drop of a hat. Speaking of which, I'm going to do that.